My 240Z recently started dying when rev'd to pull away. It cuts out like the ignition is switched off. Idles good and restarts easily after it has died. AAA man at the road side said spark was fading at higher revs and likely was the coil. Replaced the coil, no change. The fuel pump is fairly new and besides, AAA man said fuel was not the problem. (not 100% convinced he was right) Even sitting in neutral you can only get it to go above 2000 RPMs if you very slowly increase RPMs, but at some point 3000-4000? it cuts out. When under load, it seems to cut out at lower revs. Fuel filter was a little dark with sight sediment, so changed it, no change. Rotor, plugs, leads are all new. Has carbs. Has non-points, transistor ignition.
Any ideas? I am not mechanically literate, so go easy on me.

 

240z dies above 2000 RPMs
Maybe I should add, that there was a strong smell gas for weeks prior to the issue. Choke cable is also very hard to pull on and have been told it needs replacing. Could a Choke linkage possibly be causing my issue? Does my car have a choke linkage? (what is a choke linkage? ha ha)

 

1. Does your Z have a stock ignition?
2. Get a timing light (preferably an inductive one) and use it while someone else presses on the gas.
3. Gunk can cause the choke cables to bind.
4. Too much gas can cause the car to die. Pull the plugs after it dies and see if they are wet with gas.
5. Download the FSM so you can learn more about your car.
6. Read up on adjusting SU carburetors (assuming you have SUs). Better yet, buy the videos from Welcome to ZTherapy.com.

 

Ignition has been changed, so distributor cap does not contain points, but some other electronics instead. It has an electronic ignition box stuck on engine bay side wall.
Yes, has SUs. I have watched a few SU carb youtube clips and it seems so easy to set them wrong. But maybe I should be more brave?
I like the working diagnosis of too much gas! I'll pull the plugs after a stall and check them. - thanks.
Do you think the choke may be staying on, even tho I have tried to close it in the car? I don't have a second set of eyes at the moment.

 

I had a issue like that with my z found fuel line between gas tank and front of car had a crack in it was not leaking at the time but was sucking air, mine was above rear end of the drive shaft.

 

Stalling.
Thanks. I will look into that possibility. That would also explain the strong smell of gas.

 

p.s. how did you find the crack in the fuel line if no gas was coming out of it? high pressure air test?

 

Poked my head under the car to try and view fuel lines, but it's not easy. Is it normal for the fuel pump to prime non-stop? (ignition on, but not running) I seem to remember, perhaps incorrectly, that it only primed for a short while.

 

The fuel pump should not run with the ignition off.

 

Ok, it's a month or two later... A new garage said the last mechanic didn't know what he was doing. They said the Carbs had no oil in them, so they were sticking. Seems to puur like a happy cat now :-) Just took it from London to Lyon, (south of France) and it ran like a dream. (apart from the front wheel alignment- drifted a bit left, a bit right, a bit left...Reminded me of those old b/w movies where they keep correcting the steering) Thanks for all the advice on here :-)

 

It sounds like you need to look at suggestion #6 in post #3. LOL

 

Choke cable was so sticky that when the choke was released, it was still on a little. Thus after running 30-45 mins, the car would judder and run rough. New cable, all fixed.

 

Cool, so it was #3. It's good to hear you got it running right.